The 2007 Student Affairs Job Hunt

In Medias Res: Howdy Stranger

Full disclosure: I posted most of this yesterday and was perfectly happy with it. Then I woke up this morning and figured I'd reread it while I killed time waiting for the bus. In the light of morning like the insecure teenager who lives in my head, I loathed some of what I'd wrote and by exstention loathe myself. So this is the revised version. A second chance at a first impression.
How to begin? How do you provide background to people when you’re supposed to be writing anonymous?I’ve been mulling over how to start this blog. How much background information to give? How much context to lay out? And then I figured, screw it. I’ll just jump in the middle, and let the survivors sort it out.
I will let you in on this[1]: I am a Grad Student. I am almost done, and it is a nice feeling. While I was home during the break, my friends marveled at the prospect that I would have a masters degree soon. Some of my friends have still put off college, so they don’t necessarily understand what student affairs is. I’ve explained it three or four times, but they continue to insist I’m a guidance counselor. Which is only half true. (I like to think I counsel, but I find I provide very little guidance)
Grad school has been its own unique frustrating maddening can’t wait for it to be over version of fun, of course.. I am ready for the next stage of my life, though.
My job search really began back in September when I started to make a list of possible schools, locations for searches, and things I wanted in a job. I did the same thing for grad school, and for my first post-college job (and for college for that matter) and it has always served me well. The list has been through multiple revisions since then and the binder it sits in (yes, I’m a little neurotic) is starting to fill up with position descriptions, placement info, and resume revisions. I should note that in college I was forced to take a business writing course that ingrained the need to do all this in me. This is not instinctive. I sort of have to force myself to do it.
I am not particularly worried about getting a job at this point. More I find I’m concerned with the type of job I can get. I never really had senioritis in college or high school, but if there is a Grad School equivalent, I have it bad. Very very bad. I’ve managed to stay on top of my work, but I find where last year I was pouring over theory books this semester I’m much more concerned about updating my I-pod so I have a soundtrack for the bus ride to campus. Certainly I look forward to discussing Knowing and Reasoning in College, but I look forward to it more if I can pump myself up with some TV on the Radio[2] en route.
The senioritis[3] is playing itself out in the job search too. My list of dream school has grown to forty (I have lots of dreams, apparently), and I have about three, four (depends on your Enron style accounting) versions of my resume. That said, I haven’t really completed any applications. I’ve sent out two resumes to jobs that seemed like they had January start dates, but weren’t explicit (Note to employers-if you’re hiring for January, save us all a lot of frustration and make that clear in your posting. Thanks).
So what am I dreaming about? A school in a decent sized city. This could be Los Angeles or Ann Arbor. I’m looking for a critical mass. I would like a place with diversity; sexual diversity, ethnic diversity, spiritual diversity, diversity of thought. I’d like to work at a place that’s as concerned with my professional development as my ability to execute tasks. I’d like a place what I can experiment (and to fail a little bit). Ideally I’m looking at Residence Life or some form of Social Justice work (although the latter jobs are few and far between). Admittedly I have a soft spot for assessment, but I don’t think I know anyone right out of their grad program who got a job in assessment. However, if you have such a job, leave your info in the comments section, and I will pester you from now to May.
Well, that’s assuming I get over my application anxiety.
This anxiety over sending out resumes has one primary source (and a number of smaller neurotic tributaries, such as “Did I put the right things in my cover letter? Was my cover letter too wordy? Did I order the information correctly in my resume? Did I remove too much relevant experience? Is it too early in the process to be sending out applications? Will they think I’m an over achiever if I send it out this early? Will I be lost in the deluge if I wait? Will I be lost in the deluge if I don’t wait?”
The main reason though, to return to my point, is to begin the job search process is to take it out of the realm of fantasy. Once I start applying to my dream schools and find that they either don’t have openings or I’m under qualified my dreams start to die. Now admittedly I could afford to have a decent number of dreams die. I would say about 36. About 36 of my dreams could die and I’d still be on solid ground. The only reason I got the first two apps out were the solid deadline listed in the posting. I don't want to be the guy that sends things in right before the deadline. I'd like to get ahead a bit (not ahead of the other applicants, but more ahead of my own schedule).
My experiences with job searches have been dispiriting and frustrating. Last year as I was preparing for internship interviews I got unduly excited over schools that didn’t even bother to politely decline me. They just left me hanging. I invested way too much emotional energy in what should have been an exciting process. This time I’m going to keep a distance. Enough to be excited about a job, but only if the employer’s giving me reason to be excited. Admittedly this is a difficult task to set for oneself. I read the Joint Meeting listings and it’s hard not to imagine moving into my two bedroom apartment in the Big City for my dream job.
I want all the possibilities to come true. I want the embarrassment of riches laid at my feet, and I want to pick and choose. “I’ll have a little small public and a tiny slice of that large public. Not too much though. Bureaucracies are bad for my digestion.”
At some point I’m going to have to get over this. Most likely it will be this upcoming long weekend, when I will celebrate Dr. King’s dream by beginning to extinguish some of my own.
Man that was maudlin. Better to end on an upnote: Woo hoo University of Florida! (In Medias Res is not currently nor has he ever been associated with UF. He just likes the colors. Orange and blue compliment his coloring. He is a winter).
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[1] And so as we attempt to establish trust reader, I immediately go back on my commitments.
[2] Or Nelly Furtado, depending on how the spirit takes me.
[3] Let’s just call it that for argument’s sake, unless anyone has a better name? In fact, let’s make that the first In Medias Res contest! In the comments section offer your diagnosis. Best winner gets featured in my next post and a signed headshot.

posted by StudentAffairs.com @ 9:48 AM